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Classic Authors: Margaret Mitchell

© Susan Jensen

When Margaret Mitchell began experiencing arthritis in her ankles and feet, she quit her job as a reporter for the Atlanta Journal to convalesce at home. Her husband, John Marsh, hauled armfuls of books home for her to read while she lay in bed. When Marsh tired of lugging books up to their apartment, he brought his wife a typewriter, and urged her to write her own book, since she had obviously read every book in the library. She took his advice to heart and begin writing a story set in her beloved South. She never wrote another book and never needed to, because her one novel, Gone With the Wind(1936), blasted all previous publishing records, ensuring that Margaret Mitchell would have all of the fame and fortune she desired.

Margaret Mitchell was born on November 8, 1900, in Atlanta, Georgia. Her parents, Eugene and Mary Isabelle ("May Belle"), were both important people, who were involved in local issues and politics. Eugene worked as an attorney and also served as the president of the Atlanta Historical Society. May Belle, a devout Catholic with strong Irish roots, spoke out on women's rights. She founded the more liberal wing of the suffragette movement, which became the League of Women Voters. As a young girl, Margaret often accompanied her mother to suffragette rallies. May Belle also encouraged her daughter to read the classics and writer her own stories. Margaret's mother died in the influenza epidemic of 1918, but she had already made a deep impression on her daughter.

Several years before her mother died, Margaret's family moved to a mansion at 1149 Peachtree Street; it was here that she spent most of her childhood. Margaret quickly became a tomboy (calling herself "Jimmy") in order to play with her brother and the neighborhood boys. She also wrote and staged plays for her friends and family. One of her favorite activities was listening to the stories her extended family members told. She was particularly fascinated by tales of war.

Margaret became engaged for the first time in 1917. Her fiancee, Lt. Clifford Henry, was killed in France shortly thereafter. She learned of his death while studying at Smith College. In 1920, she "came out," but caused a scandal by performing a seductive dance. Thanks to that incident as well as her decision to do charity work for blacks and poor citizens at Grady Hospital, she was refused admission into the Junior League. Two years later, she married Berrien Kinnard ("Red") Upshaw. The marriage dissolved within a few months, although they weren't officially divorced until 1924. In 1925, Margaret married John Marsh, who worked in the advertising department of the Georgia Power Company.

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